Former Charlton Athletic manager, Alan Curbishley, used a seemingly innocuous mistake by Iain Dowie to help seal Crystal Palace's relegation in 2005.
In professional football, the slightest advantages, even those psychological, can make all the difference. This may well have been true for Dowie's lowly Eagles, who were relegated on the final day of the 2004-05 season in incredible circumstances.
Premier League table - 14th May 2005 (Before the final day)
Pos
17
18
19
20
Known as the greatest escape in modern English football, West Bromwich Albion became the first side to avoid relegation from the Premier League despite being bottom at the start of the final day.
Of course, for every miraculous survival story, there are just as unlikely casualties, and despite Crystal Palace starting the day in 19th, Norwich's 6-0 loss against Fulham meant an Eagles win away to Charlton would have easily renewed their Premier League status.
Premier League table 2004-05 - Final standings
Pos
17
18
19
20
Having led 2-1 as late as the 82nd minute, Jonathan Fortune's equaliser, the final goal of the day, secured Palace's downfall – and to make it even more painful, it came at the hands of their local rivals.
Happier memories for Charlton supporters, but fans might be surprised to know that, according to their beloved ex-gaffer, the catalyst for this result began, bizarrely, during a League Cup tie seven months prior.
Alan Curbishley gave his side the upper hand
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While the idea of Charlton being a comfortable mid-table side in the English top flight might be difficult to imagine in the present day, this was very much the case exactly 20 years ago.
The Addicks were long-safe, sitting 13 points ahead of Dowie's Eagles in the table. With relatively nothing to play for except pride, you'd be forgiven for thinking the game didn't matter to Curbishley and co.
However, with bragging rights in South London on the line, and a chance to relegate a local rival, this was simply not the case, especially as Palace had already defeated them at The Valley that season in a third round Carling Cup tie, eliminating them from the competition.
A pitch-side interview with the club in 2021 revealed that Curbishley felt little to no remorse for their supporting role in this tragedy, even admitting that he had used some managerial dark arts to try and get one over on them.
"They'd have done the same to us without a shadow of a doubt," he said.
"I think we played them in the League Cup earlier on in the season, and somehow, they left all their notes in the away dressing room.
"One of the apprentices picked them up and brought them in to me, and it had all the bad things that he had all the bad things that he had said about our players on it.
"So I thought, you know what, I'll save that for when we next play them, and I just pinned it to the dressing room wall for certain players and said 'this is what they think of you'. You can't run, you're not strong enough, you aren't aggressive enough."
A move that wouldn't seem out of place in an episode of Ted Lasso, Curbishley had used the external words of criticism as an opportunistic attempt to invigorate his squad.
While it is impossible to prove that this did, in fact, have a bearing on the result, it is interesting to note that two of the six players to have featured in both fixtures (Jerome Thomas and Jonathan Fortune), likely featuring in these infamous notes, combined for the all-important equaliser.
Alan Curbishley, Charlton legend
Football - Charlton Athletic Kit Launch - Sparrows Lane Training Ground, New Eltham - 18/7/03 Charlton's Hermann Hreidarsson , Manager Alan Curbishley , Simon Royce and Matt Holland Unveil the new kit for the 2003/2004 season Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Robin Hume
In uninspiring times at The Valley, a trip down memory lane such as this may bring bittersweet nostalgia for the early 00s and their inarguable managerial legend.
Shortly after the aforementioned interview, in April 2021 it was announced that the League One club would rename their East Stand to 'the Alan Curbishley Stand', exemplifying his important contributions to the club.
A fifteen-year stint between 1991 and 2006 represented arguably the most successful period in the club's post-war history, and certainly the best in modern times.
While it took 16 years to reveal to the public, this kind of story goes some way to explaining the type of opportunism, emotional intelligence, and frankly, competitively pettiness that made Alan Curbishley such a hero to Charlton supporters.
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